“Justin! Here pull this on” the photographer, Antonio, instructed, stepping towards his model with a new article of clothing he’d been given by Mr. Ferding, the man who’d hired him to do this shoot.

“Yes sir” Justin agreed, taking the blouse from the man, pulling the shirt he was wearing over his head. He was used to undress in front of a lot of people, it didn’t make him less uncomfortable but people expected him to.

He threw the shirt aside and stuck his arms in the blouse, pulling the sides together. His hands went to button his article of clothing but before he could reach the first button an assistant had stepped forward and started on the first one, quickly buttoning them while Justin let his arms fall back to the sides not understanding why he couldn’t have done that himself. He said nothing however and when the man was done he went to the set to let the photographer do his job.

“Sit down on the chair” the man instructed, no hello’s or nothing, this was business and he had other things to do. Justin sat, facing the man.

“Open your legs”

*click*

“Bend forward a little”

*click*

“Put your elbows on your knees, rest your head in your hands”

*click*

“Rest your head in your right hand then in your left”

*click*

*click*

“Move your legs to the left”

*click*

“Lean back”

“Slouch down”

*click*

The photographer put his camera to the side and checked Justin, looking him up and down before he gave his camera to his assistant.

“Come, sit on the sofa here” Antonio instructed, gesturing for Justin to get up and to sit down on the sofa. Once again Justin did as he was told. He sat down. The photographer stepped back to see the whole picture before stepping forward again, knowing how he wanted Justin.

“Lay down” he told him but his hand came up to Justin’s shoulder to push him in the position he wanted him to lay in.

“Put your arm up, over the sofa, the other across you stomach” he said once again using his own hands to get Justin to comply. He pushed at his hips to get him to roll over slightly, his hand brushed over his crotch as the man went for his arm, rearranging it across his stomach. Justin gritted his teeth, letting him.

“Good” the man nodded, stepping back, changing his mind before he was even two steps away. His hand reaching out again to pop open a few buttons of his blouse, letting the shirt fall open slightly before he put his finger under Justin’s chin to tilt it slightly and get the right angle.

Justin stayed put although he’d more than felt the hand on his chest, the man’s fingers lightly touching his skin as he pretended to arrange the clothing so it would fall perfectly. The photographer looked at the complete picture again before stepping back, snapping his fingers for the make up lady to reapply his model’s make up before he made his way back to his camera. Justin stayed still as the make up lady worked on reapplying his face and was ready when the photographer had his camera back in his hand.

The snapping of the photo camera began again…

Justin sighed as he was finally allowed to get up and go home. After four hours of changing into new clothes, being rearranged on various objects such as a sofa, a chair and a wooden box amongst other things plus getting his picture taken more times than he could count, he was more than relieved that this day was over.

He quickly went to the dressing room, plumping down tiredly in his stool in front of the mirror. He hurriedly swept a wet towel over his face to get rid of the make up they’d used. He then got out of the customer’s clothes, pulled on his own jeans and t-shirt he’d come in with that morning and finally went home.

He stretched out on the couch in his sweatpants, smiling finally as no one reached out to rearrange him or pull at his clothes. He was alone with a can of coca cola. He sighed as he closed his eyes, relaxing completely.

As he reopened them again his eye fell on a magazine on the coffee table, he sighed sadly as he thought about his day, about his job… and how much he hated it. The bright light, people swarming around him, the command to smile, to look left then right, the constant clicking of the camera, the flash going off once it did. It annoyed him. He felt uncomfortable. He felt like a dress up doll. It was not about him, it was never about him. It was not about how good he looked or what he could do, it was about the clothes, making the clothes look good. His job was to show them off and it felt so impersonal, they could have taken any kid with a nice face and a gorgeous body.

His agent told him that he was a good model though. He was young only twenty years old, had a body he kept in good shape, his hair was naturally curly giving him a special look and his baby face always appealed to the customers to hire him for a shoot. He got a lot of jobs but although his agent was very pleased with it, Justin was not. He’d thought there was something that he could add personally to make the clothes or whatever he was showing look better. His personality and his ideas for example but he had it all wrong. They gave him a personality, if they wanted him to have one in the first place and as for his ideas… no one listened to them and after a while he stopped giving them. They would brush them aside as if he knew nothing, looking at him like he shouldn’t worry his pretty head about it.

It made him sick.

This business made him sick but… he didn’t quit.

He couldn’t because there was nothing else he could do except look pretty...